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Ectopic Expression of WsSGTL3.1 Gene in Arabidopsis thaliana Confers Enhanced Resistance to Pseudomonas syringae

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Abstract

Glycosyltransferase (GT) enzymes are the members of a large multigene family in plants that can transfer activated sugar molecules to an extensive range of acceptors, such as sterols and secondary metabolites. This glycosylation of plant metabolites helps in the fortifying defense of the plant against different environmental stress. Sterol glycosyltransferase (SGT) is a key member of GT family mainly involved in glycosylation of sterols. Previous report has shown that expression profiling of the WssgtL3.1 gene of Withania somnifera increased dramatically under diverse abiotic and biotic stress. Therefore, the present study aimed to heterologously overexpressed WssgtL3.1 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana to study its role in the mitigation of the adverse effect of Pseudomonas syringae infection. In overexpressing lines, upon pathogen infection, less bacterial growth was observed which might be due to enrichment in SA content. In addition, higher PR1 gene expression, less callose formation, less hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulation, low MDA formation, higher SOD enzyme activity, and greater Fv/Fm were observed in all transgenic lines. Moreover, changes in glycosylation of sterols were observed in all samples; as a result, total sterol content was also found to be higher in each overexpression line. Furthermore, increased expression of squalene synthase (SQS) suggested more sterol biosynthesis in each overexpression lines due to the modulation of SA. Overall, these results suggested that high proportions of free and conjugated sterol contents in transgenic lines due to overexpression of WssgtL3.1 plays a significant role in the enhancement of immunity against P. syringae in A. thaliana plants.

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Abbreviations

CFI:

Chlorophyll fluorescence imaging

CFU:

Colony-forming unit

DPI:

Day post-inoculation

GTs:

Glycosyltransferases

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

PSBD:

Putative sterol-binding domain

PSPG:

Plant secondary product glycosyltransferase

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SA:

Salicylic acid

SG:

Sterol glycoside

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

SQS:

Squalene synthase

NPQ:

Non-photochemical quenching

Y(II):

Yield

WT:

Wild type

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, for providing financial support to carry out the research work. ST acknowledges “National Post-Doctoral Fellowship (NPDF)” by the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Govt. of India (File No.: PDF/2020/001377). Also, Director, CSIR National Botanical Research Institute, is gratefully acknowledged by the authors for providing the facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226007, India

    Manoj K. Mishra

  2. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Botanical Research Institute, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226001, India

    Shalini Tiwari, Meenal Srivastava & Pratibha Misra

  3. Maharaja Agrasen University, Kallujhanda, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, 174103, India

    Abhishek Awasthi

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  1. Manoj K. Mishra
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  2. Shalini Tiwari
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  3. Meenal Srivastava
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  4. Abhishek Awasthi
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  5. Pratibha Misra
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Contributions

MKM and PM designed the research. MKM, ST, and MS performed the research work. AA performed HPLC, analyzed data, and revised the manuscript. MKM, ST, and PM drafted the research and revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Manoj K. Mishra or Pratibha Misra.

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Mishra, M.K., Tiwari, S., Srivastava, M. et al. Ectopic Expression of WsSGTL3.1 Gene in Arabidopsis thaliana Confers Enhanced Resistance to Pseudomonas syringae. J Plant Growth Regul 41, 1871–1886 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-021-10427-x

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